Effects of work-to-family enrichment on psychological distress and family satisfaction: A dyadic analysis in dual-earner parents

Workload, job, and family satisfaction in dual-earning parents with adolescents: the mediating role of work-to-family conflict

Introduction

The study examined the direct and indirect effects of parents' workload, work-to-family conflict (WtoFC), job satisfaction, and family satisfaction among dual-earning parents and their adolescent children.

Methods

A total of 516 dual-earning parents and one adolescent child were enlisted for the study using non-probabilistic sampling. Mothers and fathers completed assessments about workload, WtoFC, and the Overall Job Satisfaction Scale, while all three family members responded to the Satisfaction with Family Life Scale.

Results

The data were analyzed using the mediation Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and structural equation modeling. The findings revealed a negative association between mothers' workload and family satisfaction. Moreover, both parents' workloads reduce adolescents' family satisfaction. Both parents' workload was positively associated with their WtoFC. Additionally, WtoFC was found to significantly mediate across intraindividual and interindividual domains, linking workload and job satisfaction in parents and workload and family satisfaction for parents and their adolescent children.

Discussion

These empirical insights underscore the critical need to mitigate workload and WtoFC to enhance parental job satisfaction and family satisfaction of all family members. The study's practical implications provide the audience with actionable insights that can be applied to workplace practices, empowering them to make informed decisions.

Family-to-work conflict linked to psychological distress and family life satisfaction during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic in dual-earner parents with adolescents

Introduction

Research on work-family dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that family demands increased for workers, particularly those with children. This heightened family-to-work conflict negatively affects the subjective well-being of parents and their children. However, these outcomes have been mainly examined on individuals without considering the family as the unit of analysis. This study aimed to explore the relationships between family-to-work conflict, psychological distress, and family life satisfaction in dual-earner parents with adolescent children during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the potential mediating role of psychological distress among FtoWC and family life satisfaction and the moderating role of household monthly income were tested.

Methods

The non-probabilistic sample in Chile comprised 860 dual-earner parents and one of their adolescent children (mean age 13.5 years, 50.8% female). Parents answered an online questionnaire with FtoWC scale, whereas parents and adolescents answered the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale and the Satisfaction with Family Life Scale. Analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling and the mediation actor-partner interdependence model.

Results

FtoWC was directly linked to lower family life satisfaction in fathers and via a mediating role of psychological distress in both parents. Mothers' FtoWC was related via the mediating role of the fathers' psychological distress to fathers' lower family life satisfaction and via the mediating role of the adolescents' psychological distress to adolescents' lower family life satisfaction. Monthly household income moderated three APIM model paths involving mothers' variables.

Discussion

These findings underscore the importance of implementing family-oriented workplace policies. Such policies may help mitigate both parents' experiences of FtoWC and their resulting psychological distress.

Intra- and Inter-Individual Associations of Family-to-Work Conflict, Psychological Distress, and Job Satisfaction: Gender Differences in Dual-Earner Parents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the work-family interface dynamics in some families. For couples who kept earning a double income during the pandemic, their family demands may entail a loss of psychological resources that affect the work domain. This study explored the intra-individual and inter-individual (crossover) direct and indirect effects of family-to-work conflict (FtoWC) on psychological distress and job satisfaction in a non-probabilistic sample of 860 different-sex dual-earner parents with adolescent children from Temuco and Rancagua, Chile. Mothers and fathers answered an online questionnaire measuring FtoWC, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the Overall Job Satisfaction Scale. The data were analyzed using the actor-partner interdependence model with structural equation modeling. Results showed that a higher FtoWC is linked to greater psychological distress and lower job satisfaction in both parents. In contrast, psychological distress is directly linked to lower job satisfaction in fathers. In both fathers and mothers, they and their partners' FtoWC were indirectly linked to lower job satisfaction via the fathers' psychological distress. These findings indicate the need for gender-sensitive social and labor policies aimed at reducing the conflict between family and work to increase job satisfaction in both parents and reduce psychological distress, particularly in fathers.

Demands and Resources of the Work–Family Interface among Micro-Entrepreneurs in Chile

This research was designed to test how the demands–resources model is associated with the work–family interface. The present paper focused on time pressure and workload measured according to self-efficacy and personal autonomy as well as the perceptions of satisfaction with that balance. We developed an interpretative qualitative study of the meaning of the work–family interface by concentrating on the paradoxes that emerge from this relationship and from the bidirectionality. A qualitative methodology was used, and data were obtained through 44 semi-structured interviews with male and female micro-entrepreneurs from Chile who were selected according to inclusion criteria such as sex and type of micro-entrepreneur as well as their work–family balance. The interviewees had different family configurations. The results show that the group developed dual perceptions of the interface, with workload and time pressure becoming resources, and these aspects could be managed in their favor to reinforce the development of other personal resources such as autonomy and self-efficacy. The interviewees also made analytical adjustments to context sequences so that demands could be resolved subjectively by turning them into resources that provide meaning to the actions and give legitimacy to their personal decisions. The study contributes to the literature by providing a better understanding of the perceptions of micro-entrepreneurs regarding the positive connections between family and work and the negative consequences of the conflict to redefine the demands–resources model.